It was not the debut in Formula 1 that Kimi Antonelli dreamed. In just a lap and a half of FP1, the 18-year-old from Bologna showed all his speed, but then he lost control of his Mercedes on the entry to the Alboreto curve and went to crashing into barriers, ending his experience with a Formula 1 car in Monza early.
After strong impact (About 50/52G lateral, to be clear, a measure comparable to Max Verstappen's accident at Silverstone in 2021), Antonelli promptly apologized to the entire team and Toto Wolff took his defense: "What we saw today is that we have more problems slowing him down than making him faster: that lap and a half was just amazing and very fast”.
Antonelli after the accident: "I pushed too hard, I apologize to everyone"
“Today was a bit of a, how can I say, quite intense day. – Antonelli explained – I did my first free practice session and unfortunately it ended quite quickly. I pushed too hard given the conditions that existed, where I should have gone progressively and instead I immediately looked for the limit and crashed".
“It was quite a big impact, around 50/52G lateral. At the moment I don't feel very well and I will return to the hotel to rest and prepare for the rest of the weekend. I would like to thank the Mercedes team because they gave me this opportunity and I apologize to everyone, especially with George for the accident. Now let's try to focus on Formula 2 and have a nice weekend”, concluded Antonelli, who will return to the track tomorrow with the Formula 2 for the feature race, after finishing sixth in today's qualifying.
SOURCE STATEMENTS: AutoMoto.it
